Tube-cutter.



No. 778,293; PATENTLED DEC. 27, 1904. G. WIEDEKE.

TUBE CUTTER.

APPLIGATION IILE D JULY 20 1904.

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I PATENTED DEC. 27, 1904. G. WIEDEKB. TUBE CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1904.

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PATENTED DEC. 27, 1904..

v e. WIBDEKE.

TUBE CUTTER.

A PPLIOATIQN FILED JULY 20, 1904.

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Patented December 27, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAV WIEDEKE, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

TUBE-CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 778,293, dated December2'7, 1904.

Application filed July 20, 1904. Serial No. 217,308.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAV WIEDEKE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tube-Gutters; and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to'which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of. this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in tube-cuttersfor boiler manufacturers.

Among the points of utility and advantage, as hereinafter described andclaimed, are the following:

The invention provides a tube-cutter which feeds automatically. It alsoprovides means for cutting off the tubes of boilers either inside oroutside the boiler-head. at any desired distance from the head. In themaking of new boilers after the tubes are cut off the ends are thenbeaded or hammered down against the boiler-head. This necessitates muchhammering and in many cases causes the tubes to crack. 1

The present invention provides means by which the tubes are cut off witha bevel and the ends slightly rolled back ready for beading.

The invention further provides means for attaching an extension to thetool, by means of which the cutter can be used in cutting tubes ofboilers where the boilerhead is some distance inside the shell, as inlocomotives, &c. This extension of the cutter'allows the person handlingthe instrument to stand upright outside the shell of the boiler, whileformerly it'was necessary to work in a cramped position inside theshell. 1 This of courseis a' Figure 1 is a view of the cutter employedincutting a tube outside the boiler-head. Fig.

2 is a similar view of the cutter cutting in side the boiler-head. Fig.3 is alongitudinal section of the cutter. Fig. 4 is a section onthel'ine m m of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view of the cutter and extensiondevice. Fig. 6 is a detail of the feed-wedge. Fig. 7 is a detail of thecutting-blade and frame or carrier. Fig. 8 is a view of the doubleroller and carrier. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the frame of thecutter. Fig. 10 is a detail of the feed-handle and feed-nut. Fig. 11shows a tube as cut by the improved cutter. Fig. 12 shows thefeed-handle in a position to be operated by hand.

Throughout the specification similar reference characters indicatecorresponding parts. 1 designates the frame of the cutter, being hollow,as shown in Fig. 8. 2, 3, i, and 5 designate bearing-bosses projectingfrom said frame. Bosses 2 and 3 contain openings 2 and 3, whichcommunicate with the interior 1" of the frame. On the interior 1 of theframe is a feed-wedge 6, having connected at, one end a rod7. Rod 7 hasscrew-threads 8 at one end, which passes outside of the frame land uponwhich is a nut 9. Wedge 6 has an abrupt taper 10 and a gentle taper 11on opposite sides. Along the tapered sides of the wedge are retainingprojections 12 and 13. Engaging projection 12, with a correspondinggroove 12, and resting on taper 10 is a carrier 14. Carrier 1 1 projectsthrough opening 2 in boss 2 and has journaled in its upper end a cuttingblade or Wheel 15. Engaging projection 13, with a corresponding groove13, and resting on the gentle taper 11 is a carrier 16, said carrierprojecting through opening 3 in boss 3, and has journaled in the up perend two rollers 17 and 18. Boss 4: also has an opening 4, in which restsa roller and itsframe or carrier 19. Passing around frame 1 is a guard20, having setscrews 21, by

means of which it may be fastened at any .point.

Connected to-said guard-ring 20 by means of a screw 23 passlng lnto acircumferential groove 23 is a guard'22. In the The rear end of theframe 1 is of smaller diameter than the rest of the frame, as at 24:.This difierence of diameter forms a shoulder 25 on said frame. Supportedaround the rear end 24 and adjacent to shoulder 25 is a ratchet 26. Lugs27 on ratchet 26 fit openings or recesses 28 on frame 1 to unite them,and any movement of the ratchet 26 is imparted to the frame 1. Adjacentto the ratchet 26 on end 24 is a ratchet-handle 29, having a pipeextension-handle 30. Ratchet-handle 29 carries a pawl 31, which engagesratchet 26. Lying adjacent to ratchet-handle 29 is a slip-collar 32,which is tightly fastened to the end 24 by a screw 33 to hold theabove-described mechanism in place. Nut 9 has two projecting pins 34,which act as a support for feed-handle 35. The said handle has twoprongs 35, which pass on either side of the nut 9 and are held by pins34. Passing between these prongs near the point of convergence is a pin36, which is a part of ratchet-handle 29 and which imparts any movementof the ratchet-handle 29 to the feed-handle 35'. Projecting at rightangles from one of the prongs 35 is a bar 37, having its extreme outerend 38 bent at right angles to its length. The bent end passes acrossthe path of rod 7' and prevents any further movement of the rod when theend of said rod reaches the stop end 38. It will be observed that thefeed-wedge 6 has a boss or projection 39. Lying in the pathof said bossis a screw 40, projecting through frame 1. Screw 4O performs the samefunction as stop 38 by engaging projection 39 to stop any furtheroutward movement of the wedge 6. At the front of the frame 1 and heldthereto by a nut 41 is a centering-guide 42. Said guide tends to keepthe cutter in one position throughout the cutting operation. I will nowdescribe a feature of the device which enables the cutting off of tubesin boilers where the head is some distance inside the. shell, as inlocomotive-boilers, &c. Reference is made to Fig. 5 throughout thisdescription.

44 designates an extension-frame having on one end lugs or projections45 and on the other end recesses 46. Said extension is hollow throughoutits length and has a smaller diameter at one end, 51. 47 designates asetscrew insaid frame.

48 designates an extension feed-rod having at one end a sleeve-coupling49. The other end is threaded, as at 50.

To use the extension, it is necessary to loosen screw 33 of slip-collar32 and remove said slip-collar, together with the ratchet 26 andratchet-handle 29, from the rear end 24 of frame 1. Extension-rod 48 isthen screwed to red 7 by coupling 49, and extension-frame 44 is attachedon the rear end 24 of the main frame 1 with lugs 45 engaging recesses 28of said main frame. Set-screw 47 is then tightened. The object of theselugs and set-screw is to firmly unite the extension to the main frame.On the smaller end 51 on extension 44 the ratchet 26 is put with itslugs 27 engaging recesses 46. The ratchet-handle'29,

slip-collar 32, feed-nut 9, and handle 35 are then put on in the ordernamed and adjusted. The instrument is now ready for use, and, as shownin Fig. 5, the operator can stand upright while cutting off tubes adistance inside the shell 52. These extensions are made in variouslengths, suiting various demands or conditions.

In removing the cutting and roller frames from their hearings inopenings 2 and 3 in bosses 2 and 3 the screw 40 is removed from the pathof boss or projection 39 of wedge 6. The wedge is then drawn in thedirection indicated by the arrow (see Fig. 3) until the frames orcarriers 14 and 16 are released from the wedge 6 by passing out ofengagement with the projections 12 and 13. They then can be lifted fromthe frame 1.

Referring to Fig. 9, 53 designates an opening in frame 1, said openingbeing used in removing the wedge 6 from the interior of said frame.

Having described the various details of the mechanism, I will nowbriefly detail the operation of the cutter.

The forward centering-guide is placed into the tube, and the whole isthen pushed in until the guard 22 engages the boiler-head 43. Theguard-ring has been previously set to cause the blade 15 to cut at thedesired point. Fig. 1 shows the blade cutting one-eighth of an inch onthe outside of the head 43, which is the usual distance to allow forbeading the tubes. The feed-handle 36 is then moved outward and awayfrom engagement with pin 36, as shown in Fig. 12, and the feed-nut 9 isturned to feed out the cutter 15 and the rollerbearing 16 to engage thetube 43. Feed-handle 35 is then returned to the position ready toautomatically feed, as shown in the various views, and the cutter isready for operation. The handle 30 is then grasped, and by pulling thehandle toward the operator or from left to right (the operator standingto the right of the cutter) the pawl 31 engages ratchet 26, thus movingthe frame and all mechanism thereon, and thereby starting the cutting.Moving the handle away from the operator, or from right to left, thepawl rides over the ratchet, the frame and mechanism thereon being atrest, but the feed-handle o )erating the nut 9 to draw the wedge in thedirection of the arrow (see Fig. 3) and feeds outwardly thecutting-blade 15 and the rollers 17 and 18. These movements arecontinued until the feedrod 7 reaches the stop 38, at which time thecutting-blade 15 has severed the tube. It will be observed in Fig. 1that during the operation of cutting a tube outside the boilerhead thefront roller 18 acts as the chief bearingroller. To cut a tube insidethe boiler-head, as is necessary in removing the old tube from boilers,the following changes only are necessary: Set-screws 21 are loosened andthe ring 20 and guard 22 are moved nearer the ratchet the desired amountto cause the cutting-blade 15 to lie inside the head 43 when the guard22 is against said head. The operation as above described is thenrepeated.

From Fig. 2 it will be seen that during the cutting operations insidethe boiler-head roller 17 acts as a bearing. It will also be noticed inthe various views of the cutting blade or wheel that the cutting edge isnot a straight bevel, but is conveXly curved, as indicated by 15. Thereis always a roller acting as a chief bearing at the point of cutting,and since these rollers are continuously exerting an outward rollingpressure as they are being gradually and continuously fed outwardly, andowing tov the peculiar shape of the cutting-surface of thecutting-blades the tube when severed has an outwardly-rolled flange 14'ready for beading, as shown in Fig. 11. This point is of a greatimportance, as it decreases the amount of hammering and greatlyfacilitates the heading of the tubes, and thus lessens the possibilityof cracking to a minimum. At this point there also will be seen thegreat advantage of the two rollers 17 and 18, which enable a cut to bemade either outside or inside the boiler-head with but little change ofthe instrument.

Having. described my invention, I claim 1. In a tube-cutter, a mainframe, a ratchet detachably connected thereto, 4 a detachableoperating-handle, a wedge having two tapered surfaces, a frame orcarrier with a cuttingwheel slidingly engaging one of said taperedsurfaces, a frame or carrier with two rollerbearings'slidingly engagingthe other of said tapered surfaces, a rod connected to said wedge, a nutriding upon the threaded end of said rod, afeed-handle attached thereto,and means interposed between said operating-handle and said feed-handleto actuate the feed-handle to feed outwardly the cuttingblade androllers, substantially asset forth.

2. In a tube-cutter, a main frame, a feedwedge having two taperedsurfaces, a cutting-blade and roller adapted to be outwardly fed by saidwedge, a feed-rod having its outer end screw-threaded, anut, afeed-handle attached thereto, and a stop projecting from said handleadapted to engage said feed-rod when the outward feeding of the cutterand rollers has been suflicient to sever the tube.

3. In a tube-cutter, a main frame having a longitudinal opening therein,a feed-wedge contained therein, a cutting-wheel and rollers, means formoving said wedge to feed said cutting-wheel and rollers, a stop-screwin said main frame, a projecting stop on said wedge adapted to beengaged by said stop-screw to limit the outward movement thereof,substantially as set forth.

4:. In a tube-cutter, a main frame, cutting and rolling devices, a wedgefor outwardly feeding said devices, a main feed-rod connected to saidwedge, an extension-frame adapted to fit said main frame, an extensionfeed-rod adapted to fit said main feed-rod, said main frame and feed-rodbeing adapted to receive the operating and feeding devices,substantially as set forth.

5. In a tube-cutter, a supporting-frame, a feed-wedge, a cutter androller fed outwardly by said wedge, a feed-rod controlling said wedge, afeed-handle, and means on said feedrod engaged by the handle forimparting feed movements thereto.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GUSTAV WIEDEKE.

Witnesses:

J. FRED HEMBERGER, CAROLYN M. THEOBALD.

